Jenn Suhr does road tour, LoLo Jones watches football game, by Alfons Juck, note by Larry Eder

Jenn Suhr, photo by PhotoRun.net

Jenn Suhr is giving her local fans a chance to see her jump and share her Olympic experience with a three event street pole vault tour in Western New York. RBR thinks this is a great idea. Nutrilite and adidas are sponsoring the series of events.

And now, for something I have been wanting to write about all summer.

Social media has been the topic of the summer. Social media is used by Runblogrun, as we do with publications at the Running Network. There is a point of no return though. Most footwear companies are developing strategies around social media, if they have not so far. How does a coach or adviser speak to their athletes about their involvement or over involvement in social media?

One wonders if athletes consider that the energy they spend on pushing social media and social agendas can adversely affect their competitions. In the end, anything that takes one’s eye off the prize needs to be considered. This summer, we saw several elite athletes under the guise of athlete rights, and better sponsorship, not only articulately speak their mind-which we always support. Not sure, however, when one outs race directors for not bringing them into an invitational event, or writes that they were insulted by an offered appearance fee (this one in question was moderate five figures) offered to an athlete, that such an action has any positive outcome.

A bronze medal is worth more than fifth place. Any medal or making a final is worth more than not making the final. In this social world, athletes still have to juggle when it is important enough to risk their current success or future success for the betterment of all.

In a sport that can be over in a flash with an achilles tear or hamstring pull, track & field careers are fleeting. Social media has been embraced by fans who love the attention that they get from their heroes. Posting videos on training and races, and an athlete’s normal life go viral every day. Giving fans a true view into your world is fascinating. And face it, for the most part, digital media and social media have changed our sport for the better, bringing in an entirely new generation of athletes.

Social media and digital communications, however, does not mean that social responsibility goes out the proverbial computer screen. When one feels that they have been insulted or hurt, that is the last time to send an email or twitter. Yet, we all do it.

Common sense and common courtesy can still be used in this modern age.

Our sport is in need of change. London 2012 showed many things. One is that social media has changed our sport. Two is that 155,000 fans a day in London’s Olympic stadium for track & field means that our sport is pretty darn healthy even with the many ways we shoot ourselves in the foot each and every day. And three, that there are many sponsorship opportunities, in local, national and global markets, for our sport of track & field. We need to think out of the box, or, in a contrarian way.

Shoving change into someones’ face just makes no sense. Likewise, using 50,000 twitter followers to chastise sponsors, meet directors, key players may seem like a good idea at the moment, but it could have long term consequences.

There are ways for us to work together for the common good. I know that we do not see it in politics at all, but let’s sure not model our theme of change after how the Democrats and Republicans daily eat their young in Washington D.C. Our sport is much better than that.

A Day in the Life, part deux: Ashton Eaton, courtesy of the IAAF/The Shoe Addicts, from RunBlogRun Archives 2013

Ashton Eaton: A Day in the Life, courtesy of IAAF/from the Shoe Addicts, from RunBlogRun Archives for 2013

[Audio] Ashton Eaton interviewed in Glasgow by Larry Eder, RunBlogRun (From RBR Archives 2014)

WANG ZHEN AND LIU HONG WINNERS IN THE RACE AND OVERALL

ERDOS (CHN, Sep 14): IAAF Race Walking Challenge 2012 ended with a final meet and home chinese wins. In the men 10 km olympic bronze medalist Wang Zhen achieved 39:27 ahead of other 3 team-mates. Second London fourth placer Cai Zelin 39:44, third olympic winner Chen Ding 39:51 and fourth Li Jianbo 39:56. Best non-Chinese was young Australian Dane Bird-Smith 40:32 as fifth ahead of Hiroki Arai of Japan 40:41 and Mexican world medalist Eder Sanchez 40:50. Best European Spanish Miguel Angel Lopez was 8th in 41:01. From 50 km olympic medalists silver holder Jared Tallent was 11th (42:29) and home bronze winner Si Tianfeng was a non-finisher. In women race olympic fourth placer Liu Hong clocked 43:18 as the best ahead of PortugalÂ´s Ana Cabecinha (9th in London) 43:31 and junior and olympic 6th placer Lu Xiuzhi 43:37. Fourth Spanish Beatriz Pascual 43:54 ahead of Italian Elisa Rigaudo 44:24 and Russian Tatyana Korotkova 44:52. The only London medalist in the race Qieyang Shenjie was disqualified. With help from Tilastopaja. Both winners Wang Zhen and Liu Hong won so also the IAAF Challenge and will get 30 000 USD. They were both leaders in the series even before the finals.

KEMBOI ON THE ROAD

CASTELBUONO (ITA): IAAF writes that the 10km Giro Podistico di Castelbuono race will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Sunday. Three Olympic medallists from London 2012 will line-up for what promises to be a fantastic clash which will certainly live up to the race’s tradition. Kenyan Ezekiel Kemboi, reigning Olympic and World champion in the 3000m Steeplechase, will take on Thomas Longosiwa from Kenya and Tariku Bekele from Ethiopia, respectively Olympic bronze medallists in the 5000m and the 10,000m. Kemboi said that he will try the Marathon in the future and the Castelbuono race will be his first step to his transition from a steeplechaser to a 42 km runner.

OTHER NEWS

BOSTON (USA): Jenn Suhr is set to deliver on the promise to share her Olympic gold medal with everyone who encouraged and supported her on her journey, her management team announced as it outlined competition dates for a Jenn Suhr Gold Medal Tour of Western New York. The tour will include at least eight local appearances, three of which will include actual pole vault competitions.

ST. LOUIS (USA): US media are reporting that during the Detroit Lions’ win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh reportedly had a special guest watch his two-tackle, one-sack performance. According to Media Takeout, Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones was at the game, and the pair are reportedly dating. She finished fourth in the 100m hurdles at the Olympics. Jones has talked publicly how she has decided to remain a virgin until marriage. Jones will be in Washington, D.C., on Friday in a visit to the White House with other Olympians. In an exclusive interview with Playbook Jones is striking down a rumor that has spread across the Internet. â€žWe are not currently dating,” said Jones, who is preparing along with other Olympians for their visit Friday to the White House. â€žHowever, if the Lions win the Super Bowl and he wants to use the ring to propose to me, then we’ll see.”

MOSCOW (RUS): Beijing high jump winner Andrey Silnov (was 8th in London) is part of a group coached by Evgeniy Zagorulko whose three athletes, Silnov, Anna Chicherova (gold) and Aleksandr Shustov (15q) all carried injuries into the Games. â€žInjuries happen because of severe stress, but all of us have a different character so to speak of a system error is impossible,” explained Silnov. There has been talk of Zagorulko retiring, but Silnov insists he will continue for at least one more year. Despite his injury, Silnov appeared in two more meetings after the Olympics in Birmingham and Zurich where he finished third on both occasions. Was that not taking a chance with his injury? â€žThese meetings were planned a long time ago, and it was necessary to take part in them. It would have been wrong to not go even in this situation,” said Silnov who now has to make a decision on what to do about his Achilles tendon. â€žI am trying to figure out what to do for the best. And on that decision will depend whether I take part in the winter season or not. To be precise, right now I cannot commit myself to saying anything about the foot or the winter season,” said Silnov per European Athletics website.

LJUBLJANA (SLO): Slovenian javelin record holder Martina Ratej will undergo next week a surgery on her right elbow. â€žOn certain movements I feel pain in the right elbow and investigations have shown that in order to train and throw pain free I would need the surgery,” she said. She will have enough time to start preparations for next season on time.

SOFIA (BUL): Bulgarian long jump champion from last year and national indoor record holder Magdalena Khristova (35) and national hurdles record holder Zhivko Videnov (35, last competitions in 2008) will become coaches in newly established club â€žPriority Sport”. The club will start its activities with a junior and children competition this Sunday in Sofia.

CLEVELAND (USA): Insidethegames informs that relay Olympic gold medallist Tianna Madison is being sued by her parents, who claim that she spread stories they had been selfish and bullying and cheated her financially. Robert and Jo Ann Madison, who live in Elyria, Ohio, filed the libel, slander and defamation lawsuit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland. They claim that they have been loving, supportive and generous parents. The parents’ lawsuit seeks more than USD 25.000 each in compensatory and punitive damages.

LONDON (GBR): Eva Loeffler, daughter of the man who began the Paralympic Movement, Dr. Ludwig Guttman, has revealed that she is against the Paralympics merging with the Olympics for fear that the event will lose its unique identity. The possibility of such a move has been mooted for several years now and has gained fresh momentum following the success of London 2012, which saw record crowds and television viewing figures. Writes insidethegames.

MONTE CARLO (MON): IAAF approved two senior world records from 2012. Decathlon of Ashton Eaton 9039 points and 25 km road time 1:11:18 by Denis Kimetto from Berlin on May 6. Also two records were approved on junior level by Russian Sergey Morgunov in the long jump (835 in Cheboksary on June 20) and Egyptian Ashraf Elseify from World Juniors in Barcelona 85.57 on July 14.

RESULTS

ERDOS (CHN, Sep 14): In national 20 km women walk win for Li Yanfei in 1:31:57 ahead of He Qin 1:32:17. In junior category Luo Xingcai achieved 1:34.06. In youth 10 km races boys win for Gao Wengkui (41:36) and girls for Yang Jiayu (46:49). From Tilastopaja.

TIANJIN (CHN, Sep 14): From Chinese Student Games to note the 100 m win for Zhang Peimeng in 10.38 (+1.7) and women hurdles 13.13 (+1.5) for Wu Shijiao, informs Tilastopaja.

LEE VALLEY (GBR, Sep 12): Former junior star Harry Aikines-Aryeteey still competes, here he clocked windy 10.35 (+2.1).

CORRECTIONS

KOSE (EST): Discus thrower Daniel StÄºhl is not German, but Swedish.

BRESCIA (ITA): Italian agent Federico Rosa adds to the case of Boston marathon podium runner Jemima Jelagat that â€žthe intraarticular injection of glucocorticoid ( prednisolone) is not ” apparently” not a doping. It is completely an allowed treatment since 2010 for what no exemption is needed and not even need to be declared. I spent a summer to get out of this as we have no idea why she has been given a sanction.”

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.

Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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